Our tutoring classes for our lower elementary students, generally for 2nd to 3rd graders, are two hours long. We place students in groups of 2 to 6. They are grouped by age. These classes are categorized as enrichment classes. Enrichment classes are for students who are at or above grade level and want to go above and beyond what they are learning in their regular school classes. If you feel your child may be below grade level, we will gladly conduct an assessment to figure out the best class setting for your child.
Our Lower Elementary Reading and Writing Program is broken up into two semesters. The first semester begins September 13 and ends January 27. The second semester begins January 31 and ends June 7. Students come in once a week. Both semesters are literature based, so each semester revolves around the literature we read. We will cover the following topics of study:
Semester One (Sept 13 to Jan 27) : Literary Response and Analysis Unit
In our Literary Response and Analysis Unit, students will be reading, analyzing, and writing literary response paragraphs about poems. In this unit, we will teach students to identify different types of literary devices, such as personification, onomatopoeia, and hyperboles in the text. They will also practice writing short answer responses to reading comprehension questions, making sure to locate the answers in the text. Then, they will learn how to write paragraphs about the poems, which will include lessons on formulating a topic sentence, three supporting details, and a concluding statement to give an interpretation of the poem’s message or overall theme. They will also spend a few weeks writing their own poems in order to learn the structure of a poem.
Semester Two (Jan 31 to June 7) : Narrative Unit
In our Narrative Unit, students will be reading classic folktales, as well as contemporary narratives written by famous children’s authors. As they read, they will locate the elements of a story and its theme. They will also practice summarizing the story’s beginning, middle and end, learn how to answer comprehension questions, and practice making inferences about the setting, characters, and plot. They will also write two personal narratives of their own, using the full writing process (brainstorming, organizing, drafting, revising, editing).
In each unit, we engage our lower elementary grade students in (a) vocabulary enrichment, (b) reading comprehension and analysis, and (c) the writing process. Our curriculum is a process-based methodology. Therefore, even though the two units cover a variety of subject matters, our students use the same process for vocabulary enrichment, reading comprehension and writing for each unit. We believe that the repetition and practice is essential in helping our students grow and learn.
Please email us at info@brwi.org or call us at (949) 651-1075 to schedule a free assessment!
A typical session for your lower elementary grade child would look something like this:
Vocabulary
1. We start off with vocabulary. The teachers pick 8 to 15 words from the reading material that will be covered in the unit. They are given a pre-test to familiarize themselves with the word list.
2. Students receive a set of flashcards with a color picture representing each word. The students make 3-square flash cards—they write the definition, part of speech, and draw a word association.
3. We want our students to know their words, use them in our sessions and in their writing. So, students engage in different vocabulary games such as Word Scrambles, The Alphabet Search, Syllable Madness, Power Sentence Writing, Add an Ending, and The Synonym/Antonym Game.
4. Students will be periodically tested on their words. We use the Bridges Open Brain for vocabulary testing. They are simply given a blank sheet of paper and asked to write down as many words and definitions as they can remember. Each Open Brain, students are challenged to break their personal record. Students also play Challenge Games to test vocabulary. One such game is the Lightening Round where students work together as a team to come up with as many words as they can one to two minutes. Students are tested cumulatively up to 30 words.
Reading
For our lower elementary students, we break up the reading into three components: before reading, during reading, and after reading.
Before Reading: students will pre-read the multi-syllable, complex words from the text beforehand. They start by using decoding strategies and practicing syllabication rules for each word on our pre-reading list. Then, they will define multiple meaning words, or use context clues to determine the meaning.
During reading: students will engage in active reading strategies. We teach the students active reading skills, so they read with a pen in hand. A lot of times, students will read from page one to page two without doing anything with it. They lose a lot of critical thinking opportunities. And, when it comes time to write, they have no idea where to start. With our active reading strategies, students are learning how to analyze the text they are reading:
For Poetry:
1. What are the poetic devices they should be analyzing?
hyperbole
onomatopoeia
personification
2. Where is the figurative language?
3. Who is the speaker?
4. What is significant about the title?
5. What is the poet’s message?
For Literature:
1. What are the elements I should be summarizing and analyzing?
Setting
Character development
Plot Structure (conflict, climax, resolution)
Author’s purpose
Theme
2. Is there something being said here that is not explicitly stated? Is there a subtext, multiple meaning, or inferential texts that I need to figure out?
3. How does this story relate to the real world?
4. What is the author trying to teach me through this story?
5. What evidence, or concrete details, do I have in the text to prove these things?
After Reading: After the students read, we teach them to summarize the main points of the reading through note-taking, and in a written paragraph with a topic sentence, three supporting details, and a concluding statement to articulate their interpretation of what they have read. They will also learn how to locate under-the-surface and on-the-surface answers to various comprehension questions.
Writing
After students finish their reading, they shift gears and begin the writing process. Before the students engage in the entire writing process, we take them through a few mini-lessons to teach the structure of essay writing. Our 2nd to 3rd grade students will write one paragraph essays. To do this, we use copy changing, writing frames and writing rules. Specifically, they use professional examples and other student work as their samples and starters.
Students will also be given mini-lessons on snap shot writing (sensory detail, color words, power verbs and adverbs). They will also learn the art of elaborating on their ideas with at least two focused and relevant details. They will also learn more complex sentence structures and how to revise their simple sentences by using conjunctions, sentence connectors and added phrases. Students will practice revising and will learn how to make their writing better in each revision, and they will edit their stories for grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors.
Lower Elementary
Our tutoring classes for our lower elementary students, generally for 2nd to 3rd graders, are two hours long. We place students in groups of 2 to 6. They are grouped by age. These classes are categorized as enrichment classes. Enrichment classes are for students who are at or above grade level and want to go above and beyond what they are learning in their regular school classes. If you feel your child may be below grade level, we will gladly conduct an assessment to figure out the best class setting for your child.
Our Lower Elementary Reading and Writing Program is broken up into two semesters. The first semester begins September 13 and ends January 27. The second semester begins January 31 and ends June 7. Students come in once a week. Both semesters are literature based, so each semester revolves around the literature we read. We will cover the following topics of study:
Semester One (Sept 13 to Jan 27) : Literary Response and Analysis Unit
In our Literary Response and Analysis Unit, students will be reading, analyzing, and writing literary response paragraphs about poems. In this unit, we will teach students to identify different types of literary devices, such as personification, onomatopoeia, and hyperboles in the text. They will also practice writing short answer responses to reading comprehension questions, making sure to locate the answers in the text. Then, they will learn how to write paragraphs about the poems, which will include lessons on formulating a topic sentence, three supporting details, and a concluding statement to give an interpretation of the poem’s message or overall theme. They will also spend a few weeks writing their own poems in order to learn the structure of a poem.
Semester Two (Jan 31 to June 7) : Narrative Unit
In our Narrative Unit, students will be reading classic folktales, as well as contemporary narratives written by famous children’s authors. As they read, they will locate the elements of a story and its theme. They will also practice summarizing the story’s beginning, middle and end, learn how to answer comprehension questions, and practice making inferences about the setting, characters, and plot. They will also write two personal narratives of their own, using the full writing process (brainstorming, organizing, drafting, revising, editing).
In each unit, we engage our lower elementary grade students in (a) vocabulary enrichment, (b) reading comprehension and analysis, and (c) the writing process. Our curriculum is a process-based methodology. Therefore, even though the two units cover a variety of subject matters, our students use the same process for vocabulary enrichment, reading comprehension and writing for each unit. We believe that the repetition and practice is essential in helping our students grow and learn.
CLICK HERE to see our current Academic Calendar.
Please email us at info@brwi.org or call us at (949) 651-1075 to schedule a free assessment!
A typical session for your lower elementary grade child would look something like this:
Vocabulary
1. We start off with vocabulary. The teachers pick 8 to 15 words from the reading material that will be covered in the unit. They are given a pre-test to familiarize themselves with the word list.
2. Students receive a set of flashcards with a color picture representing each word. The students make 3-square flash cards—they write the definition, part of speech, and draw a word association.
3. We want our students to know their words, use them in our sessions and in their writing. So, students engage in different vocabulary games such as Word Scrambles, The Alphabet Search, Syllable Madness, Power Sentence Writing, Add an Ending, and The Synonym/Antonym Game.
4. Students will be periodically tested on their words. We use the Bridges Open Brain for vocabulary testing. They are simply given a blank sheet of paper and asked to write down as many words and definitions as they can remember. Each Open Brain, students are challenged to break their personal record. Students also play Challenge Games to test vocabulary. One such game is the Lightening Round where students work together as a team to come up with as many words as they can one to two minutes. Students are tested cumulatively up to 30 words.
Reading
For our lower elementary students, we break up the reading into three components: before reading, during reading, and after reading.
Before Reading: students will pre-read the multi-syllable, complex words from the text beforehand. They start by using decoding strategies and practicing syllabication rules for each word on our pre-reading list. Then, they will define multiple meaning words, or use context clues to determine the meaning.
During reading: students will engage in active reading strategies. We teach the students active reading skills, so they read with a pen in hand. A lot of times, students will read from page one to page two without doing anything with it. They lose a lot of critical thinking opportunities. And, when it comes time to write, they have no idea where to start. With our active reading strategies, students are learning how to analyze the text they are reading:
For Poetry:
1. What are the poetic devices they should be analyzing?
2. Where is the figurative language?
3. Who is the speaker?
4. What is significant about the title?
5. What is the poet’s message?
For Literature:
1. What are the elements I should be summarizing and analyzing?
2. Is there something being said here that is not explicitly stated? Is there a subtext, multiple meaning, or inferential texts that I need to figure out?
3. How does this story relate to the real world?
4. What is the author trying to teach me through this story?
5. What evidence, or concrete details, do I have in the text to prove these things?
After Reading: After the students read, we teach them to summarize the main points of the reading through note-taking, and in a written paragraph with a topic sentence, three supporting details, and a concluding statement to articulate their interpretation of what they have read. They will also learn how to locate under-the-surface and on-the-surface answers to various comprehension questions.
Writing
After students finish their reading, they shift gears and begin the writing process. Before the students engage in the entire writing process, we take them through a few mini-lessons to teach the structure of essay writing. Our 2nd to 3rd grade students will write one paragraph essays. To do this, we use copy changing, writing frames and writing rules. Specifically, they use professional examples and other student work as their samples and starters.
Students will also be given mini-lessons on snap shot writing (sensory detail, color words, power verbs and adverbs). They will also learn the art of elaborating on their ideas with at least two focused and relevant details. They will also learn more complex sentence structures and how to revise their simple sentences by using conjunctions, sentence connectors and added phrases. Students will practice revising and will learn how to make their writing better in each revision, and they will edit their stories for grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors.